Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the future of the Royal Highland Show showground.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive acknowledges the policy position set out in the UK White Paper "The Future of Air Transport" (December 2003) which requires the relocation of the Royal Highland Show showground by around 2013 (or earlier if that would be more suitable) to accommodate the land requirements of the growth of Edinburgh Airport. As part of the review of the West Edinburgh Planning Framework, work is going on to identify possible alternative sites.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8837 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 June 2004, how many people were convicted of drink-driving in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested, which is available for calendar years, is given in table 19 of statistical bulletin Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2002 published by the Scottish Executive in February 2004. A copy of the bulletin is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 31304).

Children's Hearings System

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration's Corporate Plan for 2004-06 has been approved.

Euan Robson: The Scottish ministers have approved the plan for 2004-06 and copies have been laid in the Parliamentary Information Centre (Bib. number 33105). I have written to the partner agencies of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration to explain that the administration was resourced a year ago to deliver a wider role within the Children's Hearings system, to lead change, to drive performance and to assist partners to deliver better outcomes for vulnerable children.

Citizen's Advice Bureaux

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the funding of Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive is aware of the excellent work done by Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland. However, core funding for Citizens Advice Bureaux is a matter for local authorities who are best placed to decide on the allocation of resources according to the needs of their particular areas.

Cycling

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to increase the contribution of cycling to its integrated transport system.

Nicol Stephen: We will continue to core-fund Cycling Scotland which was set up in October last year to promote cycling as a healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly mode of transport. We will also maintain cycling, walking and safer streets funding to local authorities.

Dentistry

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to expand training at Dundee Dental Hospital.

Mr Tom McCabe: In line with national policy agreements, Dundee Dental School, in agreement with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, have 64 funded places available for first year dental students in September 2004, an increase of six from 2003.

  The Scottish Executive is also pleased to see that a new degree course in Oral Health Sciences, for the training of joint dental therapists and hygienists with places for 10 students will be commencing in September 2004.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental students have graduated in each year since 1999, broken down by institution.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information sought is currently being validated and I will write separately when this is available.

  A copy of the correspondence will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many false (a) payment claims have been made by dental practitioners in the NHS and (b) claims of exemption from dental charges have been made by patients in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area and detailing the amounts in each case.

The Executive have supplied the following corrected answer:

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is in the tables below.

  Recovery Values of Claims Made by Dentists Under General Dental Services and Identified by Post Payment Procedures as False or Erroneous1

  


NHS Board

Financial Year 1999-2004

Total Recovery
(£)



1999
(£)

2000
(£)

2001
(£)

2002
(£)

2003
(£)

2004
(£)



Argyll and Clyde

0.0

9,579.75

11.00

13,640.14

292.86

1,385.10

24,908.85



Ayrshire and Arran

72,035.40

9,331.15

192.87

61.80

243.14

1,239.96

83,104.32



Borders

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

935.49

935.49



Dumfries and Galloway

0.00

381.20

2,029.95

0.00

0.00

453.43

2,864,58



Fife

0.00

843.04

0.00

0.00

351.25

1,471.71

2,666.00



Forth Valley

444.85

0.00

1,500.00

319.20

1,405.25

802.36

4,471.66



Grampian

0.00

68.20

7,931.69

6,504.98

389.22

410.91

15,305.00



Greater Glasgow

366.96

9,776.92

1,140.07

1,004.97

14,586.62

17,862.12

44,737.66



Highland

0.00

734.72

20.34

167.25

224.90

8,257.06

9,404.27



Lanarkshire

0.00

0.00

35.80

0.00

2,943,19

1,616.78

4,595.77



Lothian

2,155.95

99,316.68

47.05

227.02

471.10

10,359.09

112,576.89



Orkney

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.60

5.60



Tayside

0.00

596.81

14,850.72

8,932.25

8,674.95

2,115.33

35,170.06



Western Isles

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.66

0.00

2.66



Total for Year Ends

75,003.16

130,628.47

27,759.49

30,857.61

29,585.14

46,914.94

340,748.81



  Note:

  1. Where the recovery period extends over two or more years, the total amount is only allocated to year 1.

  Total Value of Claims Made by Dentists Under General Dental Services and Identified By Systems at Pre-Payment Stage as False or Erroneous1,2,3

  


NHS Board

Calendar Year 1999-2004

Total



1999
(£)

2000
(£)

2001
(£)

2002
(£)

2003
(£)

2004
(£)



Argyll and Clyde

54,969

71,395

58,815

49,164

45,063

8,439

287,845



Ayrshire and Arran

41,945

56,082

45,219

39,988

35,609

6,157

225,000



Borders

14,452

19,245

16,270

15,281

11,281

1,931

78,460



Dumfries and Galloway

16,194

22,022

13,205

12,349

11,329

1,539

76,638



Fife

47,981

62,212

49,214

46,117

38,476

6,311

250,311



Forth Valley

40,479

52,323

45,071

40,201

38,153

7,170

223,397



Grampian

69,318

86,152

62,955

52,394

41,228

7,299

319,346



Greater Glasgow

142,234

185,541

150,034

140,537

126,690

23,157

768,193



Highland

22,876

28,428

23,145

22,801

18,485

3,503

119,238



Lanarkshire

68,387

88,040

75,750

70,854

67,865

11,768

382,664



Lothian

111,821

150,361

130,861

126,569

112,277

19,213

651,102



Orkney

2,093

2,910

2,401

1,769

1,799

257

11,299



Shetland

2,368

3,343

2,787

4,463

4,566

577

18,104



Tayside

56,724

78,769

66,112

54,965

43,733

7,377

307,671



Western Isles

3,852

4,749

3,490

2,140

2,443

280

16,954



Grand Total

695,693

911,572

745,329

679,583

598,997

104,978

3,736,152



  Notes:

  1. These figures may differ from other published figures as they are specifically targeted to show false or erroneous rather than incomplete claims.

  2. These figures represent the difference between the amount claimed and the amount authorised.

  3. A number of these claims may subsequently be corrected and re-submitted.

  4. The figures for 2004 relate to January to March only.

  Investigations by NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services Into Potentially False Claims by Dentists Under General Dental Services 2001-04

  


Year

Number of Investigations Commenced

Number of False Claims Identified

Total Potential Value to NHSScotland



2001

2

31

£2,796



20021

1

68

£173



2003

2

1 Pro-active investigation2 
1 investigation where no decision has been made as to whether there is a case to investigate

£400,000



2004

1

No decision has been made as yet on whether there is a case to investigate

-



  Notes:

  1. Although the monetary value of this case is small, it raises clinical governance issues.

  2. In 2003 a pro-active exercise was carried out on gold restorations. The potential for false claims involving gold restorations equates to in excess of £400,000. A Bulletin was sent to all dentists on NHS board lists highlighting the problem. The impact of the bulletin is being measured currently to determine if the number of claims has decreased.

  Number of Patient Exemption Claims Checked by NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services 2000-011 and 2001-022

 Year  Number of Cases Checked  Number of Cases Confirmed as Exempt  Number of Cases Where The Patient Has Paid The Statutory Charge or the Penalty Charge  Amount Recovered2000-01  0   0  0  02001-02  5,240  3,394  231  £9,354  

  Notes:

  1. No dental claims were checked in 2000-01 since the wording of the patient declaration on payment claim forms did not allow NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services to confirm patient data with other relevant bodies under the Data Protection Act 1998. The wording was amended subsequently.

  2. The manual checking system in use enabled reports to be provided only on a Scotland-wide basis.

  Number of Patient Exemption Claims Checked by NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services 2002-031

 NHS Board  Number of Cases Where a Decision has been made as to eligibility   Number of Cases Where The Patient Has Paid The Statutory Charge or the Penalty Charge  Amount Recovered Ayrshire and Arran  178  22  £773.18Borders  85  5  £222.70Dumfries and Galloway  98  7  £163.96Fife  198  12  £312.68Forth Valley  138  10  £233.24Grampian  177  13  £294.62Greater Glasgow  339  33  £1,359.00Highland  92  4  £109.24Lanarkshire  189  17  £957.40Lothian  267  30  £863.88Orkney  4  1  £4.00Argyll and Clyde  141  19  £1,132.22Shetland  15  0  £0.00Tayside  140  11  £472.44West Lothian  0  0  £0.00Western Isles  1  0  £0.00Totals  2,062  184  £6,898.56  

  Note:

  1. An automated patient exemption checking system (PECS) developed in 2002003 has enabled reports to be produced at NHS Board level in a different format.

  Number of Patient Exemption Claims Checked by NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services 2003-041

  


NHS Board

Number of Cases Where a Decision has Been Made as to Eligibility

Number of Cases Where The Patient has Paid the Statutory Charge or the Penalty Charge

Amount Recovered



Ayrshire and Arran

402

33

£1,654.42



Borders

132

10

£308.86



Dumfries and Galloway

187

21

£861.52



Fife

400

38

£1,115.47



Forth Valley

291

21

£1,197.48



Grampian

652

46

£1,730.46



Greater Glasgow

997

114

£6,094.23



Highland

245

30

£1,119.38



Lanarkshire

599

59

£2,535.88



Lothian

832

104

£5,005.26



Orkney

61

2

£19.72



Argyll and Clyde

295

44

£1,601.75



Shetland

49

1

£97.12



Tayside

421

39

£1,890.58



West Lothian

0

0

£0.00



Western Isles

54

4

£99.88



Totals

5,617

566

£25,332.01



  Note:

  1. An automated patient exemption checking system developed in 2002-03 has enabled reports to be produced at NHS board level in a different format.

  NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services have recently completed the first stage of a risk measurement exercise, based on a statistically robust sample of claims paid in February 2003, to establish the level of patient fraud and error in Scotland in claiming exemption from charges in NHS family health services. As a result, the patient exemption fraud/error level in general dental services is estimated at 7.63% with an error margin of plus or minus 1.69%. A second risk measurement exercise will be undertaken in 2005.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many student dental (a) hygienists, (b) therapists, (c) technicians and (d) nurses there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by institution.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental (a) hygienists, (b) therapists, (c) technicians and (d) nurses graduated in each year since 1999, broken down by institution.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information sought is currently being validated and I will write separately when this is available.

  A copy of the correspondence will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 33168).

Disclosure Scotland

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken by Disclosure Scotland to give clearance for teachers transferring employment between local authorities was in the last (a) three and (b) six months.

Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland does not give clearance as such for teachers or for any other profession. It issues certificates which will help employers to decide on the suitability of the person concerned for a particular post.

  Disclosure Scotland's average processing time for correctly completed applications which did not require external enquires and had proper payment was 25 days over both the last three and six months.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the findings of Project Galore and subsequent research into people's perception of Scotland including the campaign about Scotland's international image.

Mr Andy Kerr: Findings from the recent consultation and research on Scotland's international image, commissioned by the Executive, are being published today. Copies have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 33112). I have also arranged for a copy to be sent to you.

  The Project Galore research was carried out on behalf of Scottish Enterprise. I will ask Scottish Enterprise to contact you.

Environment

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how the environmental impact of multiple proposed windfarm developments in a given area should be assessed.

Ross Finnie: Advice on how cumulative impacts should be assessed is given in Planning Advice Note 45: Renewable Energy Technologies.

Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the fact that one community-recycling business in the Highlands has recently gone out of business and that four others are faced with closure due to their exclusion from contracts arising from the strategic waste fund.

Ross Finnie: We recognise the important role which the community sector has to play in delivering the National Waste Plan. As a result we are providing support to community waste management organisations both directly and through local authority Strategic Waste Fund awards. We established a Temporary Fund this year to prevent community sector bodies going out of business while local authority bids were being assessed and future funding schemes were being established.

Environment

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to meet its environmental targets in cities.

Ross Finnie: Our commitment to Scotland's environment is at the heart of A Partnership for a Better Scotland . That includes our commitment to improve the quality of the environment in our cities.

  For example, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen have declared Air Quality Management Areas because there is a risk of failing to meet air quality objectives in these cities and have prepared action plans to improve air quality.

  We are providing additional powers to deal with antisocial environmental offences, such as causing graffiti and litter, through the Antisocial Behaviour Bill and supporting local authorities to provide a noise nuisance service, which will help improve the quality of life of people in cities.

  We are working to improve our urban rivers. For example, a total length of 18.7 km of watercourses within the River Kelvin catchment has been upgraded from lower water quality classes for 2003, largely as a result of improvements in waste water treatment plants. We have also promoted sustainable urban drainage systems as a means of dealing with diffuse pollution to water in cities.

  And we are rolling out funding to local authorities to deliver a major improvement in recycling.

External Relations

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what role the joining together of Friends of Scotland and globalscot will play in the promotion of Scotland's international image and how the Executive will build on the past activities of Friends of Scotland and globalscot.

Mr Andy Kerr: Both networks have an important role to play in developing an image of a modern, confident Scotland. We greatly value the work carried out by the members to date. We aim to build on that by avoiding overlap and ensuring better co-operation and integration of the networks, particularly in the use of website information. The Friends of Scotland network will be given a clearer focus and expanded within target audiences to support specific initiatives such as Fresh Talent. In recognition of its new role the project will be renamed Global Friends of Scotland.

Fire Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports auxiliary fire units throughout Scotland.

Hugh Henry: Yes. The Scottish Executive values the contribution that retained, auxiliary and volunteer fire-fighters can make to the protection of their communities. In particular, we have provided generous funding to Highland and Islands Fire Brigade to assist with its upgrade programme.

Fisheries

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) funding could be granted to assist the purchase of a wellboat.

Ross Finnie: An application for FIFG aid to assist with the purchase of a new wellboat would be considered if it is presented by a fish farmer or group of fish farmers who would operate the vessel as an integral part of their fish farming business/es.

Forestry

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage diversification in the use of forests and timber.

Allan Wilson: We are encouraging diversification in the use of forests and timber through our work in implementing the Scottish Forestry Strategy.

  Forestry Commission (FC) Scotland manages our national forests for a wide range of public benefits and examples of recent activity include:

  encouraging the Woods In and Around Towns initiative;

  exploring the potential for affordable social housing in appropriate parts of the national forest estate;

  the provision of world class mountain bike trails in Lochaber and the Borders;

  promoting the use of woodfuel, and

  helping to develop new designs, products, and support systems to assist industry in maximising the use of Scottish timber and engineered wood products.

  FC Scotland also works closely with local communities and it provides support for the private sector through partnership working and through the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme.

Health

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Malcolm Chisholm: I met with Dr David Farquarson of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in October 2003.

  The Executive is also represented on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Scottish Committee, who meet regularly.

  Two representatives of the Royal College are also members of the Executive's National Maternity Services Workforce Planning Group, which last met in May 2004.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the first key message of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C that "the hepatitis C epidemic is a public health crisis".

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the statement in paragraph 5.3 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C that "if we do not invest adequately now, we will not be able to afford the consequences of failing to tackle this epidemic".

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive agrees with the Final Consensus Statement that Hepatitis C poses a significant and growing problem. Vigorous, concerted action is needed to address the challenges it presents in relation to both prevention and treatment and care. Already, therefore, and building on the framework set out in the Scottish Needs Assessment Report, published in August 2000, the Executive has introduced a range of measures, a number of which recognise that the main means of transmission is through injecting drug misuse, including:

  allocating over £8 million annually to NHS Boards for action to prevent the spread of bloodborne viruses, including Hepatitis C;

  revising the Lord Advocate's guidelines to permit a substantial increase in the number of needles and syringes, which can be supplied to drug misusers;

  issuing a range of information materials to drug services and prisons across Scotland to highlight the risks from injecting, including from Hepatitis C;

  investing an additional £34 million over the last three years to expand and improve treatment and rehabilitation services for drug misusers. Allocations to NHS boards for 2004-05 for drug treatment services rose by £2.8 million, to £19.75 million, compared to 2003-04. This recognises that research from both Scotland and England indicates that getting people into treatment for their drug problems leads to significant health gains, reduced use of illegal drugs and injecting, and, in consequence, less risk of infections like Hepatitis C;

  issuing Hepatitis C materials for professionals and patients;

  funding the establishment of a national clinical database of patients diagnosed with hepatitis to help evaluate the effectiveness of treatment;

  giving grant towards the UK Hepatitis C Resource Centre Scotland, which is based in Glasgow and offers support and advice on testing and treatment to those affected by Hepatitis C, and

  funding of some £300,000 from 2002 from the Executive's Effective Interventions Unit for research, which aims to find better and more creative ways of changing behaviour among injecting drug users. eHep

  To bring further coherence and impetus to this programme of activity, the Executive will shortly publish an action plan, setting out the action currently in train and the additional measures it proposes, including further materials for health professionals and steps to raise public awareness, with a particular focus on groups most at risk.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the key messages of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , what resources have been allocated to improving the (a) prevention of hepatitis C and (b) delivery of care to patients with hepatitis C in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02, (iv) 2002-03, (v) 2003-04 and (vi) 2004-05 to date in (1) Scotland as a whole and (2) each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: As recommended in the Report of the HIV Health Promotion Strategy Review Group , published in January 2001, the Executive extended the earmarked HIV prevention funding provided annually to NHS Boards to include other bloodborne viruses, particularly Hepatitis C. Funding for this purpose was accordingly increased from £6.1 million in 1999-2000 to £8.1 million in 2001-02. Allocations to individual boards are shown in the table below.

  


NHS Board

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05



Argyll and Clyde

£415,922

£415,922

£415,922

£415,922



Ayrshire and Arran

£370,000

£350,000

£350,000

£350,000



Borders

£116,498

£115,498

£115,498

£115,498



Dumfries and Galloway

£116,804

£115,804

£115,804

£115,804



Fife

£408,062

£408,061

£408,061

£408,061



Forth Valley

£276,705

£276,705

£276,705

£276,705



Grampian

£690,825

£690,825

£690,825

£690,825



Greater Glasgow

£1,555,208

£1,560,208

£1,560,208

£1,560,208



Highland

£200,197

£200,197

£200,197

£200,197



Lanarkshire

£441,775

£441,775

£441,775

£441,775



Lothian

£2,505,627

£2,524,627

£2,524,627

£2,524,627



Orkney

£39,000

£36,000

£36,000

£36,000



Shetland

£56,000

£55,000

£55,000

£55,000



Tayside

£854,377

£861,377

£861,377

£861,377



Western Isles

£48,000

£47,000

£47,000

£47,000



State Hospital

£24,000

£20,000

£20,000

£20,000



Totals

£8,119,000

£8,119,000

£8,119,000

£8,119,000



  In addition, the Executive has provided an additional £34 million to NHS boards and local authorities over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04 to support treatment and rehabilitation programmes for drug misusers, including those who inject drugs. There is evidence that treatment reduces the use of illegal drugs and levels of injecting. Sharing of contaminated injecting equipment is one of the main routes through which Hepatitis C can be transmitted.

  As well as these specific allocations, NHS boards are given a unified budget to meet the healthcare needs of their resident populations. It is for each board to decide how best to utilise this funding, based on their assessment of local needs, including Hepatitis C

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the key messages of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , which patient groups currently have access to treatment for hepatitis C infection and which do not and what the reasons are for any difference in such access.

Malcolm Chisholm: The guidance available to NHSScotland on which patient groups have access to treatment for Hepatitis C can be found at:

  http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/qis_Publications3.jsp?pContentID=1187&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 3.3 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , what measures are being taken to encourage patient involvement, given that half of those referred do not attend clinics.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is an issue which is being considered in the context of the action plan to which the answer given to question S2W-9189 on 1 July 2004 refers. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 3.6 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , how many outreach clinics there are for patients with hepatitis C, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available centrally.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 4.4 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , what its response is in respect of the call for new drug therapies.

Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation and safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA), or, for certain types of drugs, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

  The MRHA has advised that any new drug applications, including those for Hepatitis C must achieve the required standards of safety, quality and efficacy before being granted a licence. The Scottish Executive would welcome any new drug therapies, which satisfied these criteria.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hepatitis C patients there have been in (a) Scotland as a whole and (b) each NHS board area in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02, (iv) 2002-03, (v) 2003-04 and (vi) 2004-05 to date.

Malcolm Chisholm: The latest available figures are for the year ended 31 December 2003, and are set out in the table below.

  Persons in Scotland Reported to be Hepatitis C Antibody-Positive; Number and Rate/100000 Population* by NHS Board and Year of Earliest Positive Specimen to 31 December 2003

  

 

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003



Argyll and Clyde  

Number

160

149

128

163

127



Rate/100,000

37.6

35.2

30.4

38.9

30.5



Ayrshire and Arran 

Number

119

145

103

145

149



Rate/100,000

31.8

38.8

28.0

39.5

40.6



Borders

Number

3

8

5

11

13



Rate/100,000

2.8

7.5

4.7

10.2

12.0



Dumfries and Galloway 

Number

34

57

88

54

46



Rate/100,000

23.2

39.1

59.5

36.7

31.2



Fife

Number

62

66

63

37

30



Rate/100,000

17.8

18.8

18.0

10.6

8.5



Forth Valley  

Number

86

98

81

91

67



Rate/100,000

31.0

35.3

29.0

32.6

24.0



Grampian   

Number

278

381

343

341

320



Rate/100,000

52.9

72.8

65.2

65.2

61.1



Greater Glasgow  

Number

753

701

644

845

576



Rate/100,000

83.1

77.5

74.2

97.6

66.5



Highland   

Number

41

34

47

43

44



Rate/100,000

19.7

16.3

22.5

20.7

21.0



Lanarkshire   

Number

110

131

95

180

124



Rate/100,000

19.6

23.3

17.2

32.6

22.4



Lothian

Number

186

266

209

181

103



Rate/100,000

23.9

33.9

26.8

23.2

13.2



Orkney

Number

0

0

1

2

0



Rate/100,000

0.0

0.0

5.2

10.4

0.0



Shetland   

Number

1

5

2

3

3



Rate/100,000

4.4

22.3

9.1

13.7

13.7



Tayside

Number

128

134

95

229

177



Rate/100,000

33.0

34.8

24.4

59.1

45.8



Western Isles  

Number

0

0

0

0

0



Rate/100,000

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0



Scotland

Number

1961

2175

1904

2325

1779



Rate/100,000

38.3

42.5

37.6

46.0

35.2



  Source: The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, Glasgow, Scotland – 24 June 2004.

  Note:

  *Based on population estimates at 30 June of given year.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 5.2 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , what economic analysis it has undertaken in order to inform resource allocation decisions in relation to the treatment and prevention of hepatitis C over the next 10 years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) has been commissioned to carry out work to provide robust estimates of the total number of persons living with Hepatitis C – both diagnosed and undiagnosed – in Scotland. This includes estimates of the distribution of cases by region and disease stage. The SCIEH is also undertaking work to estimate the future burden, including cost, of HCV disease over the next two decades. Preliminary output from this work should be available shortly and will inform the development of prevention initiatives, and the assessment of care and treatment needs.

Hepatitis

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 5.1 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C , what measures it is taking, and are planned, to reduce non-attendance at hepatitis C virus services (HCV), enhance referral to HCV services, improve data collection and service audit within the framework of managed clinical networks.

Malcolm Chisholm: These are issues, which are being considered in the context of the action plan, to which the answer given to question S2W-9189 on 2 July 2004 refers. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Higher Education

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Coatbridge College about terms and conditions and security of employment for academic staff.

Mr Jim Wallace: None. Employment issues within further education colleges, which are autonomous bodies in terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, are solely for the colleges themselves to address.

Housing

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the shortage of affordable housing in the Highlands.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive, through Communities Scotland, is working closely with Highland Council to direct a housing investment programme of £12 million this year in the Highlands. The level of funding from the Executive to the Highlands for housing has grown by over 140% since 1997-98.

  Highland Council may soon apply for entry on to the Community Ownership Programme. If accepted on to the programme, then I have indicated that a further £10 million a year for five years could be available for housing investment.

Housing

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Minister for Environment and Rural Development has had with the Minister for Communities on the implications for rural development of the supply of social housing in rural areas.

Ross Finnie: The Minister for Communities and I are in agreement that affordable housing is an important issue for many parts of rural Scotland. That is why Communities Scotland have committed an increased proportion of their development programme resources to new and improved housing in rural Scotland. We are also undertaking a review of affordable housing and the Minister for Communities hopes to announce preliminary conclusions shortly.

Midwifery

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether midwives can provide an appropriate standard of maternity care.

Malcolm Chisholm: Yes. The midwife is the most appropriate professional to care for low risk women, and is the lead carer for the majority of women in the ante-natal labour and post-natal periods. But different levels of care are required by women depending on their health, their circumstances and risk factors. Midwives provide care in a variety of settings, with appropriate support from other NHS staff.

Police

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates any problems arising from the operation of the TETRA police telecommunication system.

Cathy Jamieson: The operation and maintenance of the Airwave network is a matter for the service provider O2. Scottish police forces and the Scottish Executive have been working closely with O2 with the aim of achieving a smooth migration from existing systems to Airwave.

  In planning for the introduction of Airwave, Scottish forces have benefited from sharing information with those forces in England and Wales already using the service. This information has been used at both national and local levels to assist forces in preparing for Airwave.

Post Office

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Post Office Ltd in support of safeguarding the future of the 14 post office branches in the Aberdeen area that have been earmarked for closure.

Allan Wilson: Detailed arrangements for the restructuring of the post office network are operational matters for Royal Mail which is answerable to its regulator, Postcomm and the UK Government on all aspects of these reserved matters. A decision to close a Post Office branch is made only after taking full account of feedback received from customers, MPs, MSPs or assembly members, councillors, local authorities, groups such as Age Concern and Citizen's Advice Bureau, and the independent consumer watchdog, Postwatch. To date in Scotland, Royal Mail have proposed for closure only branches where the sub postmaster has expressed a desire to leave the business and the business is designated as not viable.

Poverty

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that childcare is available for parents in areas of multiple deprivation.

Euan Robson: In the current financial year the Executive has allocated over £29 million to local authorities to implement the Childcare Strategy at a local level.

  Further funding has been made available through Sure Start Scotland to support families with very young children and Communities Funding to help disadvantaged parents in deprived areas into work.

Roads

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement regarding the Fochabers to Mosstodloch bypass.

Nicol Stephen: Scottish ministers have recently received the report from the public local inquiry into the objections to the Fochabers and Mosstodloch Bypass. An announcement will be made once the reporter's recommendations have been fully considered.

Scottish Executive Departments

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on branding each of its departments since 1999, broken down into (a) consultancy fees, (b) design of, and orders for, new stationery, (c) website design and (d) other material featuring new logos.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive has not spent any money on branding its departments.

Tourism

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place, or will be put in place, to continue the work of environmental tourism managers and analogous posts from the existing tourist boards in the new local tourism hubs network.

Mr Frank McAveety: We are increasing our emphasis on environmental tourism, which is a rapidly growing part of the market, and one in which Scotland has a great deal to offer our visitors. VisitScotland will use the integrated tourism network to promote Scotland's beauty and unspoilt environment to potential visitors both at national and local level.

Tourism

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that, in expanding the field sports sector of tourism, biodiversity and other land use interests are protected.

Mr Frank McAveety: Scotland's unrivalled natural beauty is one of the major assets that attracts visitors to choose Scotland as a holiday destination. The protection of these assets is therefore an essential element in our tourism strategy, and in the development of the tourism products that we offer our visitors.

Transport

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all transport capital projects (a) completed since 1999 and costing more than £1 million, showing the final cost of each project and (b) under construction with an estimated cost of more than £1 million, showing the estimated final cost of each project.

Nicol Stephen: The following tables list those transport capital projects completed since 1999 (first table) and now under construction (second table) for which the Scottish Executive contribution exceeded £1 million. Other bodies (for example local authorities and Strathclyde Passenger Transport) also implement transport capital projects. A number of major capital projects set out in the Partnership Agreement such as the airport rail links, Edinburgh trams and the Airdrie to Bathgate and Stirling to Alloa to Kincardine rail projects are not included as they have not yet moved into the construction phase. Roads projects are covered separately in my reply to S2W-7910 given on 3 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Projects Completed Since 1999

  


Project

SE
(£ Million) Contribution

Others
(£ Million)
Contributions

Total
(£ Million)



Eigg pier infrastructure

4.06

3.60

7.66



Rum/Muck pier

3.80

3.55

7.35



Lerwick/Holmsgarth pier terminal

1.38

2.22

3.60



MV Hebrides vessel

11.39

3.80

15.19



MV Loch Nevis vessel

3.32

2.51

5.83



Broxden Park and Ride (Perth)

1.18

1.28

2.46



Edinburgh Crossrail

8.50

2.50

11.00



Eriskay Causeway

4.10

5.78

9.88



Falkirk Wheel Park and Ride

1.60

1.13

2.73



New Cumnock – Rail coal mining Freight Facilities Grant (FFG)

2.55

0.38

2.93



Grangemouth Transport Development Group - Rail logistics FFG

3.23

8.49

11.72



Rosyth - Rosyth to Zeebrugge Ferry FFG

10.97

0.70

11.67



Mossend - Rail FFG

1.88

0.63

2.51



  Projects Under Construction and Estimated to be Over £1 Million

  


Project

SE
(£ Million) Contribution

Others
(£ Million) Contributions

Total
(£ Million)



Hatston/Stromness pier and terminal

18.52

26.33

44.85



Scrabster harbour

15.68

5.50

21.18



Oban ferry terminal

2.16

2.88

5.04



Port Askaig pier and infrastructure 

1.00

8.35

9.35



Dunoon Pier Breakwater and linkspan

4.50

1.49

5.99



Sound of Barra Ferry infrastructure 

2.50

3.53

6.03



Re-opening Larkhall-Milngavie rail line

34.5

nil

34.5



Livingston fastlink bus infrastructure 

4.04

2.06

6.10



West Edinburgh busways Scheme

6.59

3.41

10.00



Platform Lengthening programme (various schemes)

18.75

3.20

21.95



FFG BP Grangemouth 

10.04

1.97

12.01



Greenburn Kier Minerals – Rail mining FFG

3.89

2.60

6.49



FFG Powharnal – Scottish coal mining FFG

9.75

3.97

13.72

Water

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on its proposal to add fluoride to the drinking water supply.

Mr Tom McCabe: We will announce the outcome of our consultation on measures to improve the oral health of children in Scotland as soon as we have completed our consideration of the many responses we have received.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scottish Parliament Staff

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it intends to establish dignity at work contacts and investigators for MSPs' staff similar to those established for its staff and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Duncan McNeil (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): The SPCB does not intend to establish a network of dignity at work contacts and investigating officers for MSPs' staff. In relation to employment of such staff, it is the relevant MSP who is the employer. The responsibilities and potential liabilities arising from legislation, including equal opportunities legislation, therefore rest with individual MSPs.

  The SPCB does, however, continue to offer best practice advice to MSPs on their obligations as employers and service providers. MSPs are free to seek further advice on any equality related matter from either the Personnel Office or the Equalities Manager as appropriate.